SteveC Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Is a wah-wah pedal the only way to get a good wah? I've tried the Boss AW-3 and it was OK but not what I was looking for. There are others - Pod, etc. - tried them. Not really doing it for me. I was trying to get by with simple and small, but I'm beginning to think a real wah pedal is the only way to get a good wah-wah sound. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicfiend Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41422&item=7300059034&rd=1 Its not gonna help you at all, but I thought it was pretty darn cool for the spandex wearing gizmo freak inside all of us that simply must have 4 wah controls on a stage at all times. Hiram Bullock thinks I like the band volume too soft (but he plays guitar). Joe Sample thinks I like it way too loud (but he plays piano). -Marcus Miller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicalhair Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 A good wah sound is like in the ear of the beholder or behearer or something, and may just depend on the situation. The moogerfooger low pass envelop filter can be set up so that it does it's thing with a volume pedal (and the evelop set to 0, so that the pedal does the work). Being "low-pass" and not band pass it will sound different but for bass I think the low pass is better. With all of the parameters tweakable via volume pedal or Control voltage it (and all the moogerfooger) can do amazing tricks. If you can check one out, I highly reccommend it. check out some comedy I've done: http://louhasspoken.tumblr.com/ My Unitarian Jihad Name: Brother Broadsword of Enlightened Compassion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Wah or Envelope Filter? I've yet to find a bass wah that I'm happy with. There are plenty of decent envelope filters out there, my squeeze being the EBS BassIQ. I'm not sure if the Boss AW-3 falls into the decent category - the Moogerfooger, Meatball, Mutron and Q-Tron are all solid alternatives though some are more brain-melting than others (step forward Mr Meatball). The fewer knobs on a pedal, the better IMO. Tweakability is an albatross - that's what your hands and bass are for. I want pedals to be simple enough that I can play them (and I mean play, really understand what they're doing) without having to spend as much time practicing them as I have done bass. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 A wah wah pedal is not the greatest effect for a bass. A wah pedal is basically a filter that you sweep by pressing the pedal. When you get to the bottom of the pedal you have filtered out all the lows. You might have to split your signal so that you still have some lows somewhere. I've never used a Bass specific wah, some companies make them. I'm assuming that either there is a blend knob, different filter values, or both. Some multi-effects units can be programmed to act as wah pedals if an expression pedal is used. Can you think of any recordings that use bass wah? There aren't very many. I think there might be a reason. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Someone Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Flea use wah wah on Power of Equality. Sounds good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Someone Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Maybe this is something for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 That's a lot of money for something you MIGHT use on one song. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbn Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Originally posted by jeremy c: That's a lot of money for something you MIGHT use on one song. From the "King of the rarely used pedalboard". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted February 16, 2005 Author Share Posted February 16, 2005 Yeah, I guess wah was misleading. I am probably looking more for an envelop filter. The MXR Auto Q sounds ok. The "Auto Wah" on the Pod is nice - modeled after the Mutron III. Maybe the EBS is what I should try next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarkus Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 The Green DOD Envelope Filter. Great device. Then I bought the Ampeg BA-210 se, good wah built-in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A McLeod III Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 My favorite choice for your application has been the EHX Doctor Q (Many of us from 70's know how to pull the back off and tweak it for bass use.) The q-Tron isn't bad for that envelope follower effect either. Now if you want a "wah" sound and you aren't afraid of your buds pickin' at ya', find a Zoom 505 (guitar) or a 506 (bass) and try the wah effect on either one of those on your bass. I've got a patch that I got from the 505 patch archives that triggers a lot more accurately than the factory patch. "Life Is Just A Game And They're Many Ways To Play...All You Do Is Choose." SC 1976 Fantom, XP 80, DX7 IIFD w/"E", Ensoniq ESQ 1, Roland Alpha Juno 2, Roland S 10, Korg Triton LE with EXB, GEM RP2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danzilla Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Try "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" from Yes (the oft-overlooked Tormato album); I think that's a pretty cool wah sound Chris Squire's getting. I use the 105Q; quite a lot. Sometimes just for a boost, sometimes slow (in front of a chorus) for an almost phasing sound; sometimes just for funky wah-wah fun. The variable q selector is great, so that I don't loose all of the low end. The only filter I've really used was the EH Bass Balls, and IMHO that was one of the cheesiest sounds I'd ever had. "Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion) NEW band Old band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicalhair Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 I'm telling you man, the moogerfooger Lowpass is it. I've not played an old Mutron, but I've played the HAZ version, the Q-Trons, a Boss envelop filter, a Menatone envelop filter, and a few others but the mooger is the best for bass that I've used by far. It can be "wah'ed" with a volume pedal, it can be used without the volume pedal and let the envelop do it. check out some comedy I've done: http://louhasspoken.tumblr.com/ My Unitarian Jihad Name: Brother Broadsword of Enlightened Compassion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted February 18, 2005 Author Share Posted February 18, 2005 Cool but a little expensive. Maybe EBS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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